How Time Passes By
by heatfoot89
Summary: AU. What happens at Duel Academy when a new student transfers? And what connection does he have with another student? Read to find out! First story, lame at summaries. JxA, OCxOC. Elements from 5Ds and CFV included. Zexal hesitant on. Not a crossover! OCxOC at first, JxA very soon. Rated T for alcohol/minor drug use, adult references, and that sort.
1. Chapter 1: Anticipation

Hello folks. I'm entirely new to writing fanfiction altogether, so this is my first story. I don't expect it to be great in any way. All I look forward to is getting feedback, so I can improve in the future.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX in any way, shape or form. If I did, Jaden and Alexis (or Judai and Asuka for those who love the Japanese version better) would be together at the end. The only things I own are the laptop this story was made on, the plot, and the OCs that will appear in the story.

Enjoy

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Chapter 1: Anticipation

One morning, at Duel Academy, snoring filled the Slifer Red dorm.

"Jay…" a voice said, in a caring and tired tone. A grumble is heard.  
"Jay…" it went again, a few seconds after the first grumble.  
"Jaden, please wake up. We don't want to be late for when the transfer arrives."

"Jeez private. We ain't gettin' the sarge up if you try to wake him up like that." Another voice said. It sounded a lot more brash than the other voice.  
"And how do you suppose we wake him up?"  
"Like this…"

A few seconds passed before…  
"FRIED SHRIMP FOR BREAKFAST!" was heard all around the room.  
Immediately, the brunette sleeping shot up, shouting "Fried shrimp for breakfast? Where?! Where?!"  
"Told ya that'd wake up Sarge…"  
"Sy, Hassleberry? What's going on?" the third voice said, a little tired."  
"Jaden. We have to go to the port. The transfer student's gonna arrive soon. Plus if we don't go, Crowler's gonna give us detention."  
"Transfer student? Let's go!"

Time skip a couple of hours:

Jaden, Syrus, and Hassleberry arrived at the port, only to find a crowd at the port, all eager to see the new transfer student.  
"Looks like Slacker got up on time for something." A snobbish voice said nearby.  
"Hey Chazz. What are you doing here?" Jaden asked.  
"What does it look like I'm doing here? I'm here to see the transfer student that everyone's talking about, and gonna give'em the Duel Academy welcome." Chazz said.

At that time, a group consisting of three girls came to the port. One of them had long, dirty blonde hair and amber eyes. Another had medium length, dark reddish/brown hair. The last one had black hair with a silverish-gray tint, tied into something resembling a ponytail.  
"Hey Alexis." Jaden called out as he saw her. "What're you doing here?"  
"Same reasons as you all are." Alexis said. "To see the new kid that everyone's talking about."  
"From what I've heard, he's supposed to be a good duelist, but a better athlete." Jasmine said, blushing a little.  
"Plus I heard he's cute." Mindy added, while blushing.  
Another girl, walking alone, arrived behind Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine.  
"Hey everyone." She said. Everyone turned to face her.  
"Hey Shirley." Alexis said. "What's up?"  
"Seeing the supposed transfer student."  
"Then I assume you heard what Jasmine and Mindy are saying about this person?" Alexis said. They turned to see that Jasmine and Mindy are still blushing.  
"Yeah. We won't know until he arrives. The only things I've heard are that he's a good duelist, and a better athlete." Shirley said.  
"What do you mean by athlete?" Jaden asked.  
"Don't you know, Jaden?" Syrus asked.  
"Let's say I don't." Jaden said.  
"They're saying that this transfer student's also a star player. A lot of people were calling this person a 'star guard' or something." Syrus said.  
"Star guard? What in Sam Hill is that supposed to mean?" Hassleberry asked.  
"It means that this person plays basketball, plays at the guard positions, and is supposedly very good." Shirley explained.  
"I'll teach him to guard the stars that he's gonna be seeing after I'm done with him." Chazz said, smirking somewhat evilly.  
"And after that, we'll see what happens when you get reported for hazing." Shirley remarked, coldly.  
"Why I oughta…" Chazz said, glaring at Shirley, with Shirley returning the glare with dagger eyes.  
"Oh man. She got you good there Chazz." Jaden said, trying to hold in his laughter, which didn't work out very well.  
"Shut it slacker!" Chazz said, with anger in his voice, facing Jaden now. Shirley looked on, without the dagger eyes now.  
Alexis and Hassleberry pushed Jaden and Chazz, respectively, away from each other. Jaden and Alexis both blushed a little when they realized what they were doing.  
"Anyway, let's just wait until the new person shows up." Shirley said. Everyone agreed, and waited. During the time, Bastion, Atticus, Aster, and Zane showed up.

The ship arrived about a couple of hours later, and out came a couple of transfers. They weren't special, so everyone groaned. Then, another person came out of the ship, luggage in one hand, with a backpack and a duffel bag wrapped around his shoulders.  
"No. It can't be…could it?" Shirley muttered to herself.  
"Can't be who?" Jaden asked. Shirley was still in a trance, and didn't answer.  
Everyone turned to Shirley and saw her in a trance.  
"Earth to Shirley. Shirley, you there?" Alexis asked, waving her hand in front of Shirley's face.  
Shirley came back to her senses.  
"Jee, Shirley, you had us worried for a second." Atticus said.  
"Sorry. I was zoning out." Shirley said. She was mentally scolding herself, getting caught thinking about whether the person was a person from her past.

The figure walked out of the ship into everyone's view. Everyone groaned, seeing a person in a suit, assuming that said person was the other's agent, or something along those lines.  
"Who the hell is he?" one person muttered.  
"Is he their agent or something?" another person muttered.

A lot of other people complained and left, leaving Jaden and his group of friends, and Shirley at the port.  
"Is that…" Shirley started to mutter.

End Chapter One

* * *

Author Notes:

I like cliffhangers, but not as much as turtles :D

I don't necessarily know when I'll post the second chapter; due to school (Damn it). I will, however, try to get it up as soon as I can.

Please don't hesitate to leave feedback.


	2. Chapter 2: The Greeting

Hi everybody. Back with Chapter 2 of this Fanfic. I apologize if any characters are OOC or anything of the sort. More characters (namely Blair, Jesse, and maybe some other OCs) will appear later.

Feel free to give feedback as to how I can improve on the story in the future.

Without further ado, here is Chapter 2. Enjoy!

* * *

"Is that…" Shirley started to mutter.

The suited figure started to walk down the docking stairs that led to the harbor. Shirley looked at him, mostly his face, because she thought the person looked familiar. When the person reached the harbor, he caught Shirley's glance, and stood in place.

'Is that person…Is it her?' he thought. He turned to face her.  
"Ke…vin…" was all Shirley could say, in surprise, seeing her best friend after 10 years. Everyone else just stared at Shirley and the person in front of them, looking back and forth at the two.

"Kevin, is that you?" Shirley said, as she started to walk up to the suited person. No response was heard from him, still in shock that the girl was walking up to him. He was shocked that she knew, no, remembered him after about 10 years.

"Shir…ley…" was all he managed to say. Shirley started running toward the person in the suit. She was only a couple of steps away from the suited person, so she decided to take a leap of faith, and hope that he would catch her.

He moved to gesture that he was going to catch Shirley. 'Is this due to not having her face-plant on the concrete, or is this actually Shirley?' he thought. He caught the Obelisk Blue in his arms, while she embraced him.

"Kevin, I can't believe it's you. It's been a long time." Shirley said, trying to hold back tears of joy, and pressing her face into his chest.  
"It _has _been a long time, hasn't it? I can't believe it. It's really you, Shirley." Kevin said. They remained like that, until…  
"Hello. Other people still here." Chazz yelled, in an impatient tone.

The two reunited friends turned to the others.  
"Sorry." Shirley started, as she wiped away her tears. "Everyone, this is Kevin. Kevin, this group here is all of my friends here at Duel Academy." Everyone waited a few seconds, since Kevin wasn't moving. Shirley didn't know that her arms were around Kevin's right arm.  
"Kevin, why don't you go greet them?"  
"I would…but there's one thing that's keeping me from doing that." He said, nervously while pointing to Shirley's arm, still gripping his right arm like a vice.  
"Oh." Shirley said, letting go. "Sorry about that." Her face started to turn slightly red.

Kevin walked up to the group, and extended his hand.  
"It's always a pleasure to meet some of Shirley's friends. Hell, any friend of Shirley is A-OK in my book." He said.  
Jaden was the first of the group to shake his hand first. "Nice to meet you. I'm Jaden, by the way." Kevin walked by and shook everyone else's hand. (A/N: in case you're wondering of the order after Jaden, it went like this: Chazz, Syrus, Zane, Alexis, Atticus, Jasmine, Mindy, Bastion, and Aster.)

After introducing himself to the group, Shirley went back to being something like glue to him. He didn't mind though. How can he when he hasn't seen her in 10 years?  
"So, what's with the suit?" Zane asked. Everyone stared at him, thinking that something had to be up. "Everyone was groaning when you came out of the ship." He reasoned.  
"Yeah, Kevin. Why are you dressed up when everyone already had their blazers on?" Shirley asked.  
"I thought you guys would know about that supposed 'star' guard transferring."  
"Yeah. We know about him. Now that I think of it, I'm not sure if he was on the wrong ship." Shirley said, wondering the last part out loud.  
"Well, I'm actually the supposed 'star' guard."

"WHAT?!" everyone said, surprised, even Shirley.  
"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Shirley asked.  
"You never asked. Plus, I don't really like being considered a 'star.'" he explained.  
"Why don't you like being considered a 'star?'" Syrus asked.  
"It's just not my thing, I guess."  
"But what about this?" Jasmine asked, showing him an article in a magazine showing his stats.  
"Oh that. I'm not really a stats guy." he said.  
"Back to my question from earlier," Zane said. "What's with the suit?"  
"The suit? There's supposed to be some press conference introducing me or something. I'd skip it if I had a choice in the matter."  
"And who set it up?" Shirley asked.  
"Some tall woman with light blonde hair. At least that's what I think she looked like."

Everyone thought for about 5 seconds, until...  
"Crowler." Everyone groaned.  
"Oh, before I forget," Jaden started. "Crowler's actually a guy."  
"Really? I could have sworn that this Crowler person is a woman, if not androgynous." (A/N: I do not mean to antagonize anyone who is androgynous. So please don't flame me. Now back to the story).  
"Androgywhat?" Jaden asked, scratching his head. Alexis couldn't help but giggle a little inside.  
"Androgynous means that…you know, we'll talk about what it really means later." Bastion said, seeing Jaden was going to be even more confused.

"By the way, what time is this supposed press conference?" Aster asked.  
"Around 4:30. Why?"  
"Well someone should show you around campus and where you'll be staying before you head to the press conference." Bastion completed.  
"Don't worry about that part." Shirley said, while growing a small blush on her face. "I have that covered."

Everyone wondered why Shirley was blushing, but quickly dismissed it. Kevin got his stuff, and walked with Shirley before they were out of everyone's sight.  
"Looks like the Master of Love is back in action." Atticus said, before Alexis and Zane hit him on the back of his head. Atticus was on the ground, face first and two bumps on his head.  
"Not in a million years." Zane said, angrily and uncharacteristic.  
"When will you ever learn?" Alexis grumbled, shaking her head.  
"Guess we have a new couple on the island." Jasmine started.  
"And they might be cuter than the best on the island." Mindy completed.  
"And who would that be?" Jaden asked. Everyone who was standing, outside of Chazz and Alexis (for obvious reasons) fell, anime-style.

"You and Alexis." they yelled. Jaden and Alexis turned to each other, blushed, and looked away.  
"No! Not my Lexi!" Chazz screamed, in agony.  
"Whose Lexi?!" Alexis asked, in an angry tone while glaring at Chazz with dagger-eyes.  
"No one's. I didn't mean you, of course." Chazz said, nervously, and with a crappy lie at that.

"But I do have one question though." Syrus said. Hassleberry grabbed Syrus by the collar and started to shake him.  
"Spill it soldier. We don't have all day here." Hassleberry said.  
"Put me down first!" Syrus wailed. Hassleberry put Syrus down, and Syrus was disoriented at first.  
"Sorry about that soldier."  
"None taken. But Kevin never gave out where his press conference was."  
"Sy, he has a good reason not to." Zane said.  
"Plus he did blush a little when Shirley was glued to his arm." Aster added in.  
"It's best if we left them alone for a little while." Bastion said.  
"Yeah. They have a lot to catch up on." Alexis said.  
At that moment, Jaden's stomach starts growling, and everyone turned to look at him.  
"Woops. So, who wants to head back and eat?" Jaden asked, chuckling a little out of embarrassment.  
"Jaden, you and your stomach." Alexis groaned, humorously. Everyone laughed as they headed back to the Slifer dorms to eat.

* * *

To be continued…

Author's Notes:

Part 3 will reveal a lot more of Kevin's and Shirley's relationship.  
It will also be mostly centered on the two of them, and have a specific POV.

I will try to get Part 3 up as soon as possible. Had a lot of free time, hence the quick update. Not sure if I'll be lucky the next time around.


	3. Chapter 3: Catching Up (Sort of)

What's up everyone? Hope I didn't keep you guys waiting too long before I got this part up.  
Anyway, here's Part 3 of this fanfic.

Please read, review, and most of all, enjoy!

* * *

Kevin's POV:

After leaving the others at the port, Shirley and I started to walk towards the dorms.

"So, Kevin. What have you been up to since I last saw you?" Shirley asked.  
"A lot."  
"I know that. But I mean anything interesting, like the fact that you play basketball."  
"Well, about that…"  
"When did you start?"  
I tried to not look at her after she asked.  
"When did you start playing?" she repeated.  
"I started…I started to play when I was around 7. To be honest, it kind of took my mind off you moving."  
"So the move affected you too?"  
"Of course it did. We never even got a chance to say bye or anything."  
"I know. My mom never did say why we moved. By the way, how's your family been?"

When she asked that, I stopped walking and looked away from her and at the ground.  
"I…It's something that I don't want to talk about." I say, coldly.  
Shirley turned to see that I wasn't following her anymore, and stopped.  
"Why? Did something happen?"  
"It's something I don't want to talk about."  
"But…" Shirley started. She then saw the cold stare I was giving her and she then decided to drop it.

You see, I was around 9 years old when my parents were killed. They died in a car accident. I never forgot the sight of it. Seeing the deformed bodies, spewing blood from everywhere, limbs distorted and bending in ways they normally shouldn't. The driver was found to be drunk driving, around a 0.28 BAC. That was when my older sister, Sarah, who was around 17 at the time, was forced to take care of my younger brother and me. My younger brother was 7 at the time. Four years later, my sister was stabbed to death by people trying to rob her when she went out with her friends for the night. Before then, it was hard to keep my head up and be optimistic for my younger brother. After hearing about my sister's murder, things were that much harder. Since then, my brother and I have been living with our aunt and uncle. They were always kind and acted like how parents treat teens. But the truth was, they just weren't my parents. From time to time, I'd break down, unable to keep my head high. I kept it high for my brother, to show him that everything is going to be alright.

Shirley's POV:

When Kevin didn't want to talk about his family, I was wondering why. I was hoping that I could get it out of him using the best friend card. Unfortunately, he wouldn't open.  
'Why doesn't he want me to know about his family? It's been 10 years since I've seen them, and I want to know how they've been.' I thought. 'If he doesn't want to open up, I guess he doesn't. For now, at least.'  
"It's alright. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." I tell him.  
"Thanks Shirley." He says. "Enough about that, how about we catch up later?" he asks, trying to lighten the mood.  
"Sure, big guy. Just name the time and place." I said, while a little blush was creeping up my face. 'Oh God, I hope he doesn't notice me blushing. And why do I feel this way around him? I've only seen him again for about an hour, and I already want him.' I thought. 'I wonder what he's thinking right now…'

Kevin's POV:

I tried to lighten the mood by asking her if she wanted to catch up later.  
'Why am I nervous around her? I mean, I know I haven't seen her in 10 years, but why am I getting this feeling now? I've never felt this way before. So why now?'  
"Sure, big guy. Just name the time and place."  
I felt a minor blush creeping on my face when she called me big guy.  
'Why am I blushing? Oh crap. I hope she doesn't notice it. Wait. She said for me to decide when we catch up. Answer her, you dumbass.' I thought.  
"How about tonight? After dinner."  
"I don't know…I mean it is party night at Chazz's tonight."  
"Party night?"  
"Well, we throw a party sometimes, and it's at Chazz's dorm most of the time."  
"Did any of those perverts try doing anything to you during these parties?" I ask, angrily.  
'Wait. I'm getting angry thinking Shirley is doing THAT with one (or more) of these guys? What the hell is wrong with me? I don't think of Shirley in that way? Do I?' I thought.  
"No. I'd kick their asses to the next century before they get their hands on me. Plus I'm saving that for someone special." I mentally sighed a breath of relief after hearing that.  
'Same old Shirley from all those years ago.' I thought, while chuckling a bit.  
"So where is his dorm?"  
"Slifer Red."  
"So the arrogant prick's a Slifer?" I said, struggling due to laughter. "Man, that's a riot."  
"He was an Obelisk Blue Before, but then went to North Academy. Long story."  
"North Academy?"  
"Rival school."  
"Ah. Got it. By the way, where am I staying?"  
"Well, most transfers are put into Slifer Red until they get the chance to test. So I'd assume you'd be in Slifer till then. Though I do have to warn you, the Slifer dorm looks like a run-down shack."  
"Not a problem. Could be worse."  
"I hear that. Plus why are we standing around? Let's get moving."

Shirley's POV

We stayed silent for a few minutes, as we continued to walk, until he asks: "Where are you staying? Obelisk Blue?"  
"Actually, I'm in the Slifer dorm."  
"But you're ranked at Obelisk Blue, though."  
"True. But after what happened last year, some of us moved into the Slifer dorm."  
"So does everyone live in Slifer then?"  
"Mostly it's just us. But most of the other Obelisks are living in the Ra dorms."  
"What happened to the Obelisk dorms then?"  
"They're under renovation."  
"You're explaining all of that tonight."  
"Don't worry. I planned on it anyway. After the party, though."  
"And I don't get to go…why?" he asked  
"Whoever said you weren't going?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"I mean that I'm bringing you to the party, dummy."  
"Oh." he said, in embarrassment while a blush starts to creep onto his face. I found it funny and chuckled a little.  
"Anyway, what have you been up to since the move?" he asked me. I could tell that he's trying to change the subject, since he was embarrassed about the whole party situation.

Kevin's POV:

I was pretty embarrassed when Shirley said I was invited after I assumed that I wasn't. So I decided to change the subject and asked Shirley what she's been up to since we last saw each other.

"I've been great. My family actually got bigger."  
"Really? You're an older sibling?"  
"Yeah. I have a 7-year old brother."  
"Wow." I said. "Now that think about it, you don't look like the kind of person who would like to have siblings." I was kidding with her on the last remark.  
"You bastard." She says, taking the hint on me joking around. "At least he's better to deal with than some other people that I know of." She glared at me saying that last part.  
"What did I do to deserve that comment?" I ask, faking drama into it for humor's sake.  
"Being born." She said, adding some 'fake' venom into that.  
"Why do you always hurt me?" I say, putting a hand over my heart, and continuing our joking. "I should report emotional abuse."  
"And do what? Sue me? I barely have any money."

We stayed silent as we tried to hold in our laughter from the conversation we just had. It failed horribly, as we both crack up after a couple of seconds.  
"Oh man, was that a complete riot. For a second there, I didn't think you'd go along with it." I said, struggling through laughter.  
"I know." She said, continuing to laugh. She calmed down before saying, "I miss days like these. You know, just us, joking around. Kinda reminds you of the good times. Don't you think?"  
"Yeah. Brings you back to those times at the park."

Normal POV:

Kevin and Shirley reminisced about the time they spent as kids, and were having a good time, until they reached the Slifer dorm. They stopped to enjoy the view.

"Well, here we are. Slifer Hall."  
"Doesn't really look that run-down if you ask me." Kevin said, as they started to walk again.  
"Most of the rooms look like they need repairs. The part that Chazz added in is the newest addition. I've been living there with Alexis, Atticus, Chazz, and Bastion since last year." Shirley said. 'I shouldn't tell him about the whole Society of Light episode that almost all of us went through. I guess it's a good thing I went low-key and didn't get turned into a mindless zombie during then.' She thought.  
"And how many rooms does the part that Chazz added have?"  
"A couple. It's around the quality of the Obelisk dorms."  
"Really? Well, which room am I staying in?"  
"I don't know. I mean, Jaden, Syrus and Hassleberry are in a triple. Then it's Chazz, Alexis, Atticus, and I in the renovated area. Bastion is in the room next to Jaden's. Aster and Zane drop by every now and then, since they're in the Pro League."  
"So are you planning on joining the Pro League after graduating from Duel Academy?"  
"Maybe. I haven't decided yet. And you?"  
"Not that I know of. Truth is, I'm planning on going to play basketball at a college before going into the NBA. Assuming a college can give a scholarship."  
"The NBA, huh?"  
"Yeah."  
"Kinda thinking big there, don't you think?"  
"That…can be taken the wrong way, you know." Kevin said.  
"How so?" she asked. She started to think for a moment, before saying "Oh you perverted bastard."

We laughed a little until we reached the rooms. We stopped, as she asked, "So, if you actually do get a scholarship, would you leave college early to enter the draft?"  
"I actually wouldn't."  
"Why not?"  
"In the case I don't get drafted and don't want to play overseas or suffer a bad injury that forces me to retire, I'd want my degree so I can have a job as a safety net. And maybe duel in the Pro League on the side."  
'Plus it's in my sister's will. Sometimes, I think she's more of a mom to me than my own mother. Then again, Sarah's been there for me when I needed it after mom and dad died, till she kicked the bucket herself.' he thought, with a gloomy look on his face.  
"Well, let's see which one looks the best, and I'll help you get settled in."  
"Sure. No problem with that."

The two of them unlocked the doors of the unoccupied rooms.  
"I didn't know you had the keys to the rooms." Kevin said.  
"Well, I'm kind of like a Resident Assistant here." Shirley replied. "Plus someone has to be in charge of everyone else."  
"You just like to bully people using power, don't you?"  
"What makes you say that?"  
"The time at the park when we were 5 years old."

Flashback (Kevin's POV):

It was a spring day in the park. Shirley and I were 4 years old, and I was turning 5 within the next couple of weeks. We were running, with me trying to catch up, until she ran into a 6 year old.

"Sowwy about that." She said, after accidentally bumping into him. What he did next, though, was unforgettable. He pushed Shirley to the ground, and her deck was scattered all over it. I saw it and ran as fast as I could to help Shirley. Only her main card, Poseidra, the Atlantean Dragon, was revealed. He looked at the cards on the ground, and immediately saw Poseidra. I caught up with them, just as the bully tried to steal Poseidra. At the time, I swore that I heard a roar.  
'What was that?' I thought. 'I can't get distracted. I gotta get to Shirley befowe the big bully hurts her.' I ran toward Shirley before the bully could hurt her anymore. I ended up running into him, with as much momentum as I got from running towards the two. I ended up running over the bully and he dropped the card. I grabbed the card after getting up when the bully grabbed my ankle. Before I fell, and injured my head, I threw the card at Shirley, and tried to tell her to get her cards and run.

"Where do you think you're going?" he said, as he flipped me over. "You just robbed me of a rare card. I say there should be an eye for an eye. Wouldn't you say?"  
I was scared, not knowing what he meant by that at the time. Everything went blurry from there. What I remembered next was that the two of us were injured, and that I tried to fight back, though it was unsuccessful.

Shirley and both of our parents saw me injured, lying on the ground. They called 911, and I ended up having a minor head injury and some bruises. They said it was a miracle that I didn't get severe head trauma.

When I met Shirley after the incident, I was greeted by a large thwack was heard, and I ended up on the ground, with a few lumps on my head and a hand imprint on my cheek.  
"That's fow twying to be a hewo, and almost getting yowself killed." Shirley said, angrily.  
"He may have beaten me up a bit, but your hits hurt more." I said, saying some truth into my delusion.  
"You idiot." She muttered, under her breath.

End flashback.

Shirley's POV:

After remembering that event, I started to smile a little. I remember that event as the first time I thought of Kevin differently.  
'He was acting like a complete idiot. He could have gotten himself killed. Then again, that's how I've known him. Always willing to enter the fray in a moment's notice.' She thought, while starting to blush. 'Wait! Why am I blushing? I don't think of Kevin in that way. Do I?'

I unlocked one of the lower floor doors, and signaled to Kevin to enter. The room we entered had two of everything that was provided: desks, beds, closets, computer chairs, and dressers.  
"Not bad. Not bad at all." Kevin said. "And here I thought you said it would be a dump."  
"And I thought you said it could be worse." I retort back, with a smirk.  
He blushed in embarrassment after I said that. I giggled a little.  
"What are you giggling at?" he asked, faking anger in his tone.  
"You really need to look at a mirror." I said, pointing to the mirror behind the door.  
He turned to the mirror and blushed even harder when he looked.  
'He's almost as red as the Slifer Red blazers. It's kinda cute. Wait. Did I just say that Kevin blushing is cute? Why am I thinking of him in that way? He's my best friend. Though I do have to admit, he does look kinda hot. Fuck. There I go again…' I thought.

Normal POV:

After Kevin's face went back to normal color, which took about 5 minutes, they got most of Kevin's stuff into the room.  
"So, is this all you have or is there more stuff?" Shirley asked  
"This is just my clothes. The other stuff should be here in the next couple of days." Kevin replied.  
"What would be in the other stuff?"  
"Some hats, sneakers, something special."  
"What's this special something that's coming here?"  
"You'll see in the next couple of days."  
"Fine. Just so you know, your little press conference is in 30 minutes."  
"30 minutes?! I gotta go." He bolted out the door, only to come back a few seconds later. "And last I checked, I still need a tour guide here."  
"Fine." Shirley said, and walked out with Kevin.

The Slifer dorm was out of view when they talked again.  
"By the way, where is the press conference?"  
"They said it was in the main gym. But I don't know where that is."

"It's in the main building. But why do we have to be there early though?"  
"They told me that I have to be there 15 minutes early. Don't worry though. You don't have to be there if you don't want to. It's just gonna be a boring half an hour."  
She shook her head. "It's alright. I'd rather be there than waiting around doing nothing."  
"Fine by me." He said. They continued walking toward the main building in silence.

When Kevin wasn't looking, Shirley pulled out her PDA and emailed everyone else about Kevin's press conference.

After entering the main building a few minutes later, they talked again.  
"So, do you know where you have to be?"  
"Yeah. They contacted me about it. Though I should get going. I guess I'll see you later then."  
"Hold on a moment." Shirley said. Kevin stopped and turned around.  
"Yeah?"  
"Good luck." She said, and kissed him on the cheek.  
"Thanks. I should get going." Kevin said, leaving quickly.  
'Oh my god. She just kissed me.' He thought, touching his cheek while blushing. 'Does she like me? Wait. Do I like her? No. Do I love her in that way?' A smile crept onto his face, before realizing that he still has to go to the gym.  
Little did he know, Shirley was still at the entrance, flabbergasted as to what she did.  
'I just kissed him. Oh my god. Why did I do that? I just ruined our friendship. How am I supposed to fix this? Especially when I'm falling for him.' she thought.

Scene shift to Jaden and the others (before Kevin and Shirley entered the main building):

Jaden and the gang were walking towards the Slifer dorms when their PDA's went off. Everyone but Zane and Aster got their PDAs from their pockets.  
"I wonder who it's from." Jaden said.  
"It's from Shirley. I wonder what it's about." Alexis said.  
"It's about Kevin's press conference." Syrus said.  
"It's at the main gym according to the email that Shirley sent. Should we go?" Bastion asked.  
"Why do we have to go to that loser's press conference?" Chazz said.  
"I'd say we should go." Atticus said. "We don't want to piss off Shirley. Especially since what happened the last time."  
Everyone else shuddered after remembering how Shirley got her brand of payback the last time the gang got on her bad side.  
"We…should probably go." Aster said, having been a victim of Shirley's odd brand of payback himself.  
"Yeah. If we didn't go, imagine what would she could do." Zane added  
"I…think it's best if we don't think about that." Jaden said.  
"Slacker thinking? I would've thought that pigs would fly the day he actually thought about something." Chazz retorted.

Moments later, Chazz was on the ground, face-first, with a lump on his head. Everyone looked at Chazz, and saw a certain Obelisk next to Jaden, with one hand clenched into a fist, and anger written all over this individual.  
"Man, she got you good Chazz." Jaden said.  
"You walked right into that one Chazz." Atticus said. "Hey Lexi, how about you let your boyfriend fight his own fights though?"  
"Boyfriend?!" Alexis retorted, with a blush creeping onto her face, knowing that Atticus was referring to Jaden. Little did she know, that Jaden was also blushing, though not as much as Alexis.  
"He's not my boyfriend. He's a friend, who just happens to be a boy. That doesn't make him my boyfriend."  
At that time, Zane put his hand on Atticus' shoulder, and said, "I'd stop now before you end up like Chazz."  
"I heard that." Chazz yelled from the ground, still face-planted.  
"But you know you want him to be your boyfriend. Am I right?" he said, poking Alexis' cheek while doing so. Alexis and Jaden were both blushing deep shades of crimson, while Alexis' anger was about to reach its boiling point, again.  
One moment later, Atticus is on the ground in fetal position, hands down grabbing his groin.  
"I told you." Zane said.  
"Anyway, shouldn't we get going? Shirley said that the press conference starts at 4:30, and it's already 4:21." Syrus said.  
"Alright folks. Let's move out!" Hassleberry said.

They then proceeded to go to the gym, for the press conference.

To be continued...

* * *

Author's Notes:

I will try to update this with the next part as soon as possible, due to classes and stuff. It even amazes me that I can get 3 parts up within 2-3 weeks to be honest.

Changed the ratings to M because of some lemons that will occur. Genre was changed to Hurt/Comfort since it also deals with Kevin's past. It will still have humor and adventure in it, though. Kinda hate how I can't list more than 2 genres on here.

Anyway, I hoped you enjoy Part 3, and don't be shy to review.


	4. Chapter 4: The Press and A Friendly Game

Hey readers:

I hope I wasn't too long with the time between the previous chapter and this one. Anyway, here is Chapter 4, and I hope that after reading, there will be some reviews. I wasn't happy seeing no reviews for Chapter 3, so I really encourage any constructive criticism in the reviews. I not only want to improve my stories, but also hear your input into it.

I apologize in advance if ANY in-show character in the story is out of character. It is mostly unintentional, and done to keep with the storyline that I had in mind. I also added some in real life stuff into the story.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own, or am affiliated with, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX in any way, shape or form. I also do not own ANY of the news publications that are listed in the story below. All I own are the laptop in which this story is written on, the OCs, and the plot of THIS story.

Now without further ado, here is Chapter 4. Enjoy!

* * *

Normal POV:

Jaden and the gang made it to the gym, and saw chairs everywhere, plus several different editors, writers, and anyone related to writing newspapers of the sort.  
"Whoa. I wonder what these people are here for." Jaden said. Everyone groaned at his naivety, none more so than Chazz.  
"They're here for the same thing we're here for. The press conference." Alexis said, being the first to calm down.  
"Jeez, I thought that even you would know that, Slacker." Chazz retorted.  
"Let's say I didn't." Jaden replied.  
"Typical." Chazz said, in a snide tone.  
"What he means is that all of these people here are present for the same reason we are. Except they make a living out of this." Atticus said. He started to imagine the paparazzi engulfing him when his dream of becoming a rock star came true. (A/N: A big IF should be included in there.)  
"So they make money by doing this, then?" Jaden asked.  
"In a way, they do." Alexis replied. "And Atticus is probably thinking about being swarmed by the paparazzi again."  
Jaden just chuckled. Alexis just smiled on, knowing that she was on a blissful high hearing Jaden laughed. The only reason why she hasn't even remotely attempted to injure or if need be, maim and/or kill Atticus for his antics and trying to hook her up with a random guy yet was because Jaden usually found Atticus' antics to be somewhat funny.  
Shirley motioned everyone to focus at the table in front, and everyone kept quiet to watch the press conference.

* * *

Kevin's POV:

I have to admit that I'm nervous. Not only because of the press conference, but also because Shirley kissed me. I made a mental note to talk to Shirley about it after, and also to kill Crowler sometime after this.

"Now I'd like to introduce the newest member of the Duel Academy Team, Kevin O'Connor."

I enter the room to a round of applause. I already knew that the applause was done out of being polite. I sat down at the center of the table, with the microphone in front of me.  
"We will be taking any questions right now. Please state who you are and what publication you're writing for before asking questions." Crowler announced.

"Hi, Kevin. Chris reporting for ESPN. What do you think you can give to the team?"  
"I think I can give the team an energy player. I've kept up with the team from time to time by watching film, and one thing I've noted was that there was lack of a player that comes in with some positivity and energy. As of right now, I just hope to be the guy who gives the team a positive spark. But it all depends on what Coach wants us to do as a team. After all, everything he's doing is meant to help the team win the championship."  
"Thank you Kevin. That is all."

"Yes, you in the red coat over there."  
"Hi Kevin. Alyssa reporting for BleacherReport. What do you expect your role to be during the season?"  
"My role? I expect to do what coach wants me to do. If he wants me to score, I'm gonna score. If he needs me to rebound, I'm on it. I'm gonna do what coach needs me to do on the court to help the team succeed. I don't care if I have to give up any sort of production. If the team does well, then it doesn't matter of my role."  
"So you don't care whether you start or come off the bench?"  
"I don't care if I'm a starter, 6th man, last man, or not dressing for games. I'll do what coach wants me to do for the team to succeed."  
"Thank you Kevin. That is all."

"Any more questions?"  
"Yes, you in the navy blue suit in the middle."  
"Blake here from the Associated Press. How well do you think you'll get along with the other players on the team?"  
"I think I'll get along with them real great. I mean, they're a bunch of cool people to be around. But I can't fully answer that until a couple of games into the season. By then, I hope that the team chemistry is really up there. I mean, we haven't even had one team practice yet. So who am I to say that we'll do just fine? I don't doubt the team's potential one bit. It's just that it's too early to say that there's gonna be a huge meltdown or they're gonna win a championship."  
"That is all."

"Yeah, you in the yellow suit."  
"Trevor from CNN. How well do you expect the team to do with you coming onto it?"  
"I can't say that we're winning a championship, but I can't say that we're gonna lose a lot of games either. It's gonna be a tough road to get to a championship, but as long as we stick together as a team, I think we'll be alright."  
"Thank you."

"Yes. Ma'am in the purple suit."  
"Thank you Kevin. Angela of Domino Daily. What do you say attracted you to transfer to Duel Academy in the first place.?"  
"I can't be a complete basketball-head." Everyone laughed. "I mean, outside of basketball, I also like to duel. I might become a pro duelist if playing basketball doesn't pan out the way I want it to. But in serious terms, what attracted me here is being able to help turn the team around. I know that they haven't had the best of luck for the past couple of seasons, but I think that I could try and help all of that. Kind of like being a veteran presence in the locker room, you know? Plus being part of a team's resurgence is a lot more fulfilling than just migrating to another team just because they have the highest chance to win."  
"Two more questions. One, how do you expect to help? And two, how is it more fulfilling?"  
"Focusing on the team. I've seen too many teams where people focus on their own stats or their own game as opposed to molding their game so that it coincides with the team's game plan. You need a team to win, and no one's a one-man army. Unless you're Michael Jordan, of course." Everyone chuckled at the last part of it, except Jaden and his gang.

"Uh…guys…just who's Michael Jordan?" Jaden asked.  
"Beats me." Syrus replied.  
"Besides, we can just ask him later." Alexis said.  
Shirley took out her PDA and looked on the Internet. She then handed it over to Alexis. "Info for you guys." She stated, without looking at them.  
"Whoa." Everyone said, in astonishment of the amount of content. (A/N: Who wouldn't actually? MJ's practically the Greatest of All Time. And yes, I know there are very few people who would refute this.)

"Second, it's more fulfilling in my opinion because everyone wants to be a vital part of a team's wins. I'm no different in that regard. But if you just go to whichever team has the highest chances of winning, then it's not like you can help win the championship unless it's off the court, when you want to contribute during the game. I feel that I could help turn the team around, not by off-court contributions, but also on-court contributions."  
"Thank you."

"Any more questions?" I see a couple of more hands rise up.  
"Yes, you in the black suit."  
"Richard here from SportsIllustrated. How do you expect to accomplish everything you need to do while being undersized, since you are listed at 5'11?"  
"I don't look at being undersized as a disadvantage. I look at it as another obstacle to get over while playing against other players. It can also create some mismatches based on who I'm being defended by. I mean, look at Ty Lawson, Chris Paul, Nate Robinson, and Rajon Rondo among other current players in the NBA. They're undersized, yet they play bigger than their height since they use what they have to get over any issue they have with size."  
"So what past players would you consider undersized?"  
"Players in the past that I would consider undersized? I'd have to say Charles Barkley, Dennis Rodman, Muggsy Bogues, and Spud Webb among others. Like other undersized players, they used basketball IQ and what they had in order to do what they did. Plus there are two current Hall of Famers among those listed, and a couple ones in the future. I don't expect to do the same things as them. I'm just gonna go out and play with everything I've got."  
"Thank you."

"Any more questions out there?" A couple of people raised their hands. "Yes, you in the brown suit."  
"Hey Kevin. Dylan here with Yahoo! Sports. I've noticed that you've kept mentioning the word 'team' throughout the press conference. What do you mean by emphasizing team?"  
"I mean that to be successful, each player on the team should sacrifice some form of production to make the team better. Most teams that fail usually have a couple of players do everything, or no players that can successfully do what they were brought in to do, and as everyone else knows, that doesn't pan out too well."  
"And what do you mean by sacrificing production?"  
"What I mean by that is if one person is meant to score, he shouldn't be relied on as the only player to score. Some of the scoring load should be relieved to the other players. Same with rebounding and defense. Everyone should be held accountable for their own actions, on and off the court. Nothing should be relied on one or two guys. One-player armies don't win championships. Teams win championships. With defense and chemistry, of course."  
"Thank you."

"At this time, we request that all questions are on hold due to time constraints. And without further ado, we would like to present Kevin with a Duel Academy jersey."

Both Crowler and some person with a dark red blazer with a bald head gave me the jersey, folded up. It was a home jersey, since it was mostly white. It was like an NBA jersey: name of team on front with number, last name on back with number and small logo of the team. I held it with the back of the jersey facing everyone and with cameras flashing at all angles. I was giving a fake smile, because I wanted to get out as soon as possible and relax.

* * *

Normal POV:

The press conference ended. All of the reporters cleared out, ready to leave the next day, but not before posting articles and videos about the press conference online.

'Thank…fucking…God! Done with this stupid press conference. Now I can get out of this stupid suit.' Kevin thought. He proceeded to leave, until Crowler and Chancellor Sheppard called him.  
"Kevin, if you have time, I'd like to see you in my office now. You too, Crowler."  
The two followed Sheppard into his office, and unbeknownst to the two adults in blazers, they were being followed.

Meanwhile, with the gang:

The gang heard this.  
"Do you think we should follow them?" Syrus asked.  
"Of course we follow them." Hassleberry screamed. "No way will we be left out of the inside info."  
"Then what are we doing? Let's go." Shirley commanded.

Later, on the way to Sheppard's office:

"Do you think it's wrong of us to do this?" Jaden asked, while the gang was going to Sheppard's office to overhear what Sheppard had to say. "I mean, what would happen if he found out about it."  
"Jaden, you do realize we're going to do the same thing like when Pierre came here?" Alexis said. After hearing that name, Jaden was getting a little tense.  
Both Syrus and Alexis noted that Jaden was tensing up after hearing the French gambler's name.  
"Uh…Jay, you alright?" Syrus asked.  
"Yeah, you've never been this angry before." Alexis noted.  
"Uh…yeah. Sorry about that." Jaden said, as he calmed down.  
'Something's definitely up. Why would he get angry when I mentioned Pierre? I mean, that happened a long time ago. And it's definitely not like him to get angry like that.' Alexis thought. She decided to drop it…for now at least.  
"Looks like a certain someone's jealous that someone else wanted my little sister." Atticus said, prodding Jaden. Jaden, once again calm, feigned ignorance. Truth of the matter was he wasn't sure of his feelings for Alexis. All that he knew was that he felt different around her since he freed her from the Society of Light. Until he found out whether it was just a crush, or something more, he planned to feign ignorance to just about everyone. Everyone else, other than Alexis, however, saw through his fake ignorance.  
"How about we drop this for now, and just get to Sheppard's office before they leave?" Zane asked.  
"Yeah, plus who knows? We might be able to get Shirley alone with Kevin."

Shirley, after hearing what Atticus said, started to have a blush creeping onto her face, while remembering what just happened before the press conference.  
"Pfft. As if. Why would I have a crush on my best friend?"  
"I never said anything about a crush, let alone one on your best friend." Shirley's face was turning crimson at the comment.  
"Oh wow. You must really have the hots for him if your face is that red." Mindy stated, thinking about. "I wouldn't doubt it, with how dreamy he is." Jasmine added in, both blushing while imagining Kevin, especially in a basketball uniform.  
"Do not!"  
"OK. It's not a crush."  
"Thank you."  
"It's Shirley being in _love_ with Kevin."  
"What? I'm not _in love_ with him. I just met him again for the first time in ten years."  
"And why did you want to show him around when we could have done it as a group?"  
"I just wanted to spend time with him, alone. You know, to catch up with him while showing him around the island."  
"Sure. Catching up with him, right…" Jasmine said, in a somewhat sarcastic tone, insinuating what Shirley meant by her comment.  
"That's all I did. Nothing less, nothing more."  
"Right…" Mindy added. It was easy to tell that Shirley was irritated by their constant insinuations.  
"Alright. I'm gonna make this clear. I do not love Kevin whatsoever."  
"Sure, you don't." The two girls said.  
"And I'm not the Master of Love." Atticus sarcastically retorted. "I'll have you two together in no time at all."  
"Atticus. I'd stop if I were you. Remember what happen last time." Zane coldly told Atticus.  
"Hold on." Shirley said, out of nowhere.  
"What?" Everyone asked.  
"We're here." Shirley said, notifying everyone that they were outside of Chancellor Sheppard's office.  
Everyone then leaned on the walls intently, not wanting to trip the automatic doors.

In Sheppard's office:

Chancellor Sheppard took a seat behind a desk, and with Crowler next to it.  
"Now Kevin, you probably know why I called you in here?"  
"Let's say I don't."  
"Since you're a transfer, we're gonna have to place you in the Slifer Red dorms for now."  
"For now? What do you mean by that?"  
"We have a transfer policy stating that all transfers will enter as Slifer Reds until they are tested. After testing, they are placed in adequate dorms."  
"So I can move up pending my exam results?"  
"Yes."  
"However, if I decide to stay as a Slifer or to remain living in the Slifer dorms despite my rank, would that be OK?"  
"It's all up for you to decide."  
"And as for team practices?"  
"Practices start in three weeks. I'd go to Ms. Fontaine and give her your health records plus injury history as all athletes submit this form. She's the head of the Obelisk Blue female dorms and the school nurse. Then go see Coach Williams before practices start. Your placement test will be before practices start."  
"And what would this placement exam be?"  
"One duel against a random student or professor of this academy."  
"Does this mean you're in the random mix as well?"  
"I'm not included."  
"What a shame. I kinda wanted to duel someone good. I understand your reasons for not including yourself in the mix Chancellor." 'Not to mention, I'll be able to shake off the rust quicker.'  
"Anyway, we'll let Crowler discuss all other info with you."  
"My pleasure Chancellor. Now I expect you to listen 'cause I'm only saying this once, Slacker."  
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa. Did you just call me Slacker?"  
"Yes, now got anything against it?"  
"Yeah. Considering that an androgynous dumbass that I can duel circles against is degrading not only me, but my work ethic as well."  
"I'll have you know that I'm a man! And I have a Ph.D."  
"Ph.D. my ass! You can't even tell if you're a man or a woman."  
"What?! That's it! I declare your exam to be in three days! And that I'll be the one you face against."  
"Fine with me. Just give me what I need and I'll be on my way."  
"Fine. Your blazer and PDA will be in front of your door by the morning. You can leave now Slacker."  
"Good with me. Rather be a Slacker than a gender-confused dumbass."

Kevin left the office, only to notice Jaden and the rest of his crew waiting outside.  
"So, anything interesting happened?" Shirley asked, before Jaden could say anything.  
"Well, my placement exam's in three days."  
"Who's it against?" Jaden asked.  
"Against that poor excuse of a gender bending freakazoid."  
"What happened exactly?"  
"Let's just say that he used the word Slacker."  
"But Crowler always does that. Almost everyone in the Obelisk dorms degrade the Slifers." Emphasis was placed on almost.  
"I don't care if he calls me a Slacker or not. But when he degrades my work ethic like that, then it gets personal."  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"Let's just say that when your back's between a rock and a hard place for most of your life, you never take anything for granted." He didn't look at anyone when he said it.  
'What did he mean by that? I mean, I haven't seen him for 10 years. Could it be that me moving was the turning point?' Shirley thought.  
"Let's just go back to the dorms, and call it an early night."  
"But what about the party?!" Chazz asked.  
"What party?" I asked, feigning ignorance of what Shirley told me earlier. Shirley glared at me, but dropped it when I have her a look that said 'He doesn't know that I know.'  
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that." Jaden said.  
"Not surprising that you would, Slacker. It's not like you live near the party anyway."  
"Yeah. We should set up for it too."  
"You guys can start the party without me."  
"Why? We can have a good time."  
"It's not that I'm avoiding a good time. It's just that I need to clear my head before I ruin the party again." Everyone shot a confusing look at me. "Happened two years ago, long story, and I prefer to not talk about it."  
"Anyway, what do you normally do to clear your head? Have a duel?"  
"Shoot some hoops. What else would you think?"  
"You really are a basketball head, aren't you?"  
"Do you even have to ask? Anyway, can we head back to the dorms? I really need to get my duffel bag."  
"What's in the duffel bag you need to get?"  
"Practice gear. You don't expect me to go onto the court and shoot while staying in a professional suit, do you?"  
"I got an idea. How about we play a couple of games and then have the party?"  
"I'm down with the idea."  
"Same here."  
"Me too."  
"Count me in, Sarge." Hassleberry said.  
"I think I'll watch from the sidelines." Alexis said. Jaden was somewhat disappointed, but clearly understood why she wanted to sit out.  
"Same with me." Shirley said. Jasmine and Mindy nodded too, signaling they'd prefer sitting on the sidelines.  
"I don't know…"  
"Why not, Syrus?"  
"You know. Cause I'm short."  
"Don't doubt yourself Sy. You know how the media says I'm short, but you don't see that affecting me."  
"You're a giant compared to me! You're almost 6 feet tall! And I'm just a lowly 5'2."  
"That may be true. But just because you're short, doesn't mean you're at a disadvantage. It just means you gotta work harder than everyone else. Plus it's also somewhat of an advantage."  
"How so?"  
"Just watch a couple of minutes, and you'll see."  
"If you say so."  
"What do you mean you can use a small size to your advantage?"  
"You'll see."

After going back to the Slifer dorms, where every guy got their gear since the girls opted to watch from the sidelines and Syrus for a few games, everyone was on court. Everyone was just in a workout shirt, sneakers, and shorts that matched their dorms, while Kevin wore black arm sleeves on both arms, black knee pads, and a white headband along with his shorts and a sleeveless shirt, both a combination of green and white. The shirt had "7" on the front and back, but no name. (A/N: Don't judge me. I'm a Celtics fan in real life. Cookies for those who can guess the player that currently wears No. 7 on the Celtics.)

"So what should we play?" Jaden asked.  
"How about 21?" Kevin asked.  
"21?" Bastion questioned.  
"Whichever team gets 21 points first wins." Kevin stated  
"So do we have to make the ball go through the hoop 21 times?" Jaden asked.  
"No. If you get it in, it's 2 points unless it's a free throw. Free throws are 1 point. If you get it outside this larger arc, that's 3 points." Kevin said, explaining the rules. "If you shoot the ball from beyond this arc here" he explained, while pointing to the three-point arc, "and it goes in, that's a three-pointer. Anything on the inside of it is a two-pointer. This line right here," he continued, as he walked to the free-throw line, "is the free throw line. Anyone who gets free throws go here. When shooting the free throws, your feet must be behind the line at all times, and your feet cannot leave the ground completely. So you can lift your heels, but not the balls of your feet."  
"I see. But why do you only get one point from a free throw if it's in the two-point zone?" Zane asked.  
"The number of free throws you get depends on what shot you attempted, and whether it was in or not. Any shot that went in with a foul is only one free throw. A shot inside the arc is two. Outside the arc counts for three free throws, pending a miss. So in that retrospect, a free throw is only one point."  
"So it shouldn't be difficult to get to 21 then?"  
"Right. But you're not including defense into that assumption."  
"How are we supposed to choose teams?"  
"How about a little shooting competition? First 2 people to hit a three-pointer are captains."  
"Sure."  
"Anything to get this over with."

(A/N: I'm gonna skip ahead to the final couple of plays in the game. Don't want this to be too wordy (haha). Those curious on captain, it was Zane and Kevin. Team 1: Jaden, Zane, Bastion, Hassleberry. Team 2: Kevin, Chazz, Aster, Atticus. Syrus opted not to play.)

The score was 19-18, with Zane's team in the lead. Jaden had just made the basket (A/N: Kinda obvious. He's clutch when it comes to dueling haha).  
Atticus inbounded the ball to Kevin, who was being hounded by Jaden. Chazz and Aster set some screens for Kevin to get free, which worked. Kevin then called out a couple of plays, such as calling for a screen, telling either Chazz or Aster to get open, etc. One of the plays that was I called, and the one that I wanted to execute, was a double pick-and-roll where the first ball-handler would get the screen, force a switch, collapse a part of the defense into the paint, kick out to an open player, who acts as the decoy for the player who went into the paint. After kicking out, the first handler roams into the perimeter, getting a screen, or a double screen if lucky, and the new ball-handler fakes a three-pointer, to fake a defender, then goes into the paint, and then gets swarmed by defenders. While defenders are getting to the guy in the paint, he kicks out, yet again, to the open man, preferably a good three-point shooter or the primary ball-handler.

Anyway, Kevin dribbled into the paint, after losing Jaden to a screen that Atticus had set. After driving into the paint, where Jaden joined Zane and Hassleberry, He kicked the ball to Aster on the wing. Aster faked a three-pointer to lose Bastion, before going into the basket. Everyone started to swarm at Aster, who kicked it out to Kevin on the left wing who immediately took the shot as Jaden ran to try and make the contest. Needless to say, it went in, as Jaden was a half-second too late.

"Man, I didn't think you'd be that good." Jaden said.  
"Plus, I think I understand now what you meant by using a small stature to your advantage." Syrus said.  
"Yeah. Not to mention you went all-out." Alexis said.  
"That was only on defense. I can't show you guys the main weapons…well, not yet anyways." Kevin said.  
"Don't forget the passing too. I gotta admit you got some great passing. Especially when you're not looking or if it's behind-the-back." Jasmine and Mindy retorted.  
"Gotta keep everyone happy. I'd prefer to distribute more than score though. After all, it's about the team."  
"You still have to say that? Even after the press conference?" Shirley said  
"It's true. It's a team game." Kevin said, emphasizing team. "By the way, what time is it?"  
Shirley pulled out her PDA to look at the time. "Right now it's about quarter to 7. Why?"  
"So do you guys want to play another round or go back?" Kevin asked. "Personally, I don't mind either option."  
"I'd normally say I'm up for another game, but I'm too hungry. I didn't get anything to eat since this morning." Jaden said, chuckling nervously at the last part.  
"Now that you mention it, I actually can use some food right now." Kevin added. "I haven't eaten anything since before I got on the ship to the island."  
"What is it with you and food, Jaden? I swear, sometimes your stomach is a black hole." Aster said, shaking his head.  
"What? I can't help the fact that I'm always hungry." Jaden said, trying to defend himself.  
"Yeah. Why pick on the guys who are always hungry?" Kevin retorted.  
"Maybe because you guys can't stop thinking about food…" Shirley said. Kevin shot a glare at Shirley.  
"I think of plenty of other things besides food."  
"Like what? Other than basketball and dueling."  
"Stuff."  
"What stuff?"  
"Just…stuff." He couldn't give away the fact that Shirley's been on his mind almost all day, especially after the kiss from before the press conference.

"I do actually have a question though." Alexis said.  
"What would that be?" Kevin asked.  
"Why do you wear number 7?" She asked.  
"A lot of reasons. It's the age I started to play. It also reminds me of how much fun I had when I started to play. I still do, but I'm gonna do it on the way while I'm playing for the championship." He explained.  
"And the colors? Black, green, and white?" Hassleberry asked.  
"Well, those are the colors of my favorite professional team. Though I didn't want anything gold-colored with it."  
"And what would that be?" Zane asked.  
"The Boston Celtics, of course."  
"Why them?" Atticus wondered.  
"They're just like me. Giving up personal gain for the main goal: the championship. I'll let someone else score more than me. As long as I get the championship in the end, I'll be happy." "What's with your obsession to win a championship?" Chazz retorted.  
"After being on the court for a long time, you want to win. But when you go out and play 110%, and still fail, time after time, especially when you're so close, it's all you want. I've learned from the past. Back then, all I wanted to do was win. I still do. Back then, I wasn't having fun while doing so. But when I do, I'm gonna have a little fun while doing so."  
"How far did you get to winning it all?" Shirley asked.  
"5 seconds. Then I took a buzzer beating 3 to the face. Couldn't do anything to stop it. At the end of the day, as much as I hate to admit it, it's made me a better player."  
"Good to see you learned from it, Kevin." Zane said.  
"Yeah. After that, I kinda just shut myself off from everyone else for a couple of days, and practically stayed on court practically 24/7."  
"That's a great solution." Chazz retorted sarcastically. "Using the cause of your depression as your out."

The next moment, Chazz found himself on the ground, with a bruised face, a couple of lumps on his head, and a shoe imprint on his butt.  
"Can't say I didn't see that coming." Jaden said.  
"You'd think by now that he learned not to get onto Shirley's bad side? " Zane said, calmly.  
"Yeah. I found that out the hard way years ago." Kevin said.  
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Shirley asked, with an anime-anger mark appearing at her head while giving Kevin dagger eyes.  
"Uh…nothing." Kevin stated, chuckling nervously. "So are we heading back?"  
"Yeah."  
"But before that, can I at least use one of the showers?"  
"Sure. But why?"  
"Believe me, you don't wanna know."

Everyone outside of the main building, headed back to the Slifer dorms, until a person with short brown hair approached them.

"Hey Alexis. How about you and Shirley ditch the losers and go on a double date with me and a friend of mine?"  
"How about no?" Alexis practically yelled.  
"I'd rather die and burn in Hell than go out with you."  
Kevin turned to Jaden. "What's with this guy?"  
"That's Harrington Rosewood. Ever since Year 1, he's been trying to ask out Alexis and Shirley to dates. They've flat out refused him at all times." Kevin breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that Shirley has been rejecting his advances.  
"If you won't go willingly, then how about I use a little force?" Harrington then tried to grab both Alexis and Shirley by their wrists when Kevin and Jaden ran towards them to intervene.  
"Whoa whoa whoa. Listen, man. The ladies don't wanna go. They ain't gonna go." Kevin said.  
"And who the hell are you?" Harrington yelled.  
"I'm the guy you're gonna have to deal with if you don't leave right now."  
"As if. Since I see you're new here, how about a duel? I win, they go with me. You win, which won't happen, I leave them alone."  
I looked at both Shirley and Alexis, to which they nodded. "Why?" I mouthed.  
They mouthed that he's a complete asshole or something like that. Kevin couldn't determine it. He turned to glare at Harrington. "You're on. But first thing's first. How do I know that you won't come up to them the next day?"  
"Fine, if I lose, which I won't, then I won't bother them again. Happy?"  
"Good enough. And I'd be careful what you say, before it comes back to bite you in the ass." He then pulls out two decks. "Since I have two decks here, I'll let you choose which one I use against you. So what will it be?"  
"I choose the one on the right." Harrington declared confidently. "Though it won't matter. Cause once I'm done with you, I'll have two of the most beautiful ladies on Duel Academy worshiping me like a God."  
Alexis and Shirley gagged at his last statement.  
"Interesting choice." He puts both deck boxes away, and pulls out the deck that Harrington declared. He searched for one card, as his eyes started to glow a faint, pinkish-blue aura. "This card right here will ensure my victory." Kevin declared. He didn't reveal it, as it would give away his deck.  
Everyone was taken back when he declared what card he would win it with.  
"I'll give you one last chance to back out now, before you make yourself a complete dumbass, though that warning's a little too late."  
"Pfft. As if that would scare me. Now let's duel!"  
"Don't say that I didn't give you a fair warning beforehand."

They activated their duel disks and the duel was on.

To be continued…

* * *

A/N:

Sorry to end it on a cliffhanger, again. It's just like crack. What can I say? Kidding, but seriously, though. Who can't end things on a cliffhanger outside of one-shots?

Cookies to those who can guess the references that lay out during the chapter, and the one at the end (pinkish-blue aura in eyes. Guess where that's from?) And yes, I has that many cookies xD

Well, I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter, and I apologize for making this too long.

I also apologize for flip-flopping ratings and genres. I've been on the fringe for making this an M-rated story due to other circumstances. The genres were because this fits into so many genres. Damn it for only being able to select two.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this Chapter. So please review and I will get Chapter 5 up as soon as I can.


	5. Chapter 5: Nighttime Duel and Day After

What's up everybody? I'm back with another chapter of this wonderful fanfic. I managed to get this up only after a couple of days apart from Chapter 4 since it was already written while I was writing Chapter 4.

I have created two more OCs that will debut later in the story. Their profiles are on my page, in case anyone wants to read them.

I have also created a poll because I have been debating on what Deck one of them should use.

The poll is found on my page so please vote. If you need any ideas as to what kind of Decks they are, please go onto the Yugioh Wikia for more info.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Cardfight! Vanguard and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's in any way, shape, or form. I DO, however, own the OCs, the plot of this story, this account, and the laptop this is written on.

Note: This is NOT a crossover between the shows that are mentioned in the disclaimer. This story, WILL, however, contain elements from the other two while based in a Yu-Gi-Oh! GX setting.

Please enjoy!

* * *

"Duel!" both Kevin and Harrington exclaimed.  
(KLP: 4000 HLP: 4000)  
"New guys first. Draw." Kevin looked at his hand. "I'll Set a monster, and then 2 more cards. I'll end after that." Three cards appeared, all face down.  
"Guess I'm up then, punk."  
"Punk? Who the hell uses that as an insult anymore? Other than second-rate wannabes."  
"Why you little" he vented out in anger. "I draw."  
"Now I'll activate Service Ace. With it, I can take a card from my hand, and you have to guess. Guess wrong, and I can deal 1500 points of damage to you."  
'A Burn Deck that involves tennis? This can get interesting. And with a 1-in-3 shot, too.' Kevin thought. He took a deep breath, and before he opened his eyes, "Monster!" he declared.  
Harrington slightly cringed when Kevin guessed. Kevin smirked, knowing that he was right.  
"You got lucky. I summon Dark Smasher."

(Dark Smasher: Level 3, Dark. ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000. Beast-Warrior/Effect: Activate if this is the only monster on your side of the field. Once per turn, if this card attacks a Defense Position monster, destroy the monster without Damage Calculation. Then inflict 500 damage to your opponent.) (A/N: Yes, I made up this card.)

"Now attack his Defense Monster."  
The monster revealed itself as XX-Saber Darksoul. Almost as soon as the Grim Reaper-looking figure with lanky arms, armed with a scythe, and dressed in minimal armor with an X appearing over the chest and belt, along with a red cloak appeared, it disappeared.

(XX-Saber Darksoul: Level 3, Earth. Beast-Warrior/Effect. ATK: 100 DEF: 100. During the End Phase of the turn this card was sent from your side of the field to the Graveyard, you can add 1 "X-Saber" monster from your Deck to your Hand.)

"And now that Dark Smasher's effect has activated, I can inflict 500 points of damage to you."  
(KLP: 3500 HLP: 4000)  
"Now I'll place three face downs and end my turn."  
"During your End Phase, I first activate the effect of XX-Saber Darksoul in my Graveyard. During the End Phase of the turn it's sent to the Graveyard, I can add an X-Saber monster from my Deck to my Hand. And I choose XX-Saber Faultroll."  
"As if that'll help you."  
"Not yet. But this will. Cause I activate the Trap Card, Reinforce Truth."

(Reinforce Truth: Normal Trap. Special Summon 1 Level 2 or lower Warrior-Type monster from your Deck. You cannot conduct your Battle Phase the turn you activate this card.)

"Reinforce Truth? What does that do?"  
"Reinforce Truth lets me Special Summon a Level 2 or lower Warrior-Type Monster from my Deck. And I'll choose X-Saber Pashuul." A person clad in blue armor, with a bull horn on the right side, long black hair, and a sword with the letter "X" imprinted on the top part of the blade appeared.

(X-Saber Pashuul: Level 2, Earth. Warrior/Effect. ATK: 100 DEF: 0. This card cannot be destroyed by battle. If this card is in face-up Defense Position during your opponent's Standby Phase, take 1000 damage. You must control this card in face-up Defense Position to activate and to resolve this effect.)

"And since I activated Reinforce Truth, I skip my Battle Phase."  
"Guess you won't be able to attack me then. I mean, what kind of card would make you skip your Battle Phase?"  
"However, since I activated it during _your _End Phase, I don't have to skip my next Battle Phase."  
"What?"

(scene shifts back to Jaden and gang)  
"That's sweet!" Jaden exclaimed.  
"Yeah. He basically bypassed the drawbacks of his own card, and added another on his turn." Syrus added.  
"Now the only thing is how he'll use it." (A/N: No pun intended).  
"Kevin. What happened to that deck?" Shirley wondered.

(scene shift to Kevin and Harrington's duel)  
"Well, that was…pathetic." Kevin said, acting uncharacteristically snobbish.  
"What did you say? When it's my turn, I'll make sure that you eat those words."  
"Well, that's too bad then."  
"And why is that?"  
"Because…this is the Final Turn!" he boldly declared.

(Insert Kai's Theme (Season 1) from Cardfight! Vanguard)

Everyone was stunned at Kevin's declaration.  
(scene shift to Jaden and gang again)  
"How can he declare a final turn? It's only been a turn for both of them into the duel."  
"Kevin. You were never like this back then." Shirley said to no one in particular. She had a flashback to several moments in her childhood. Most were of Kevin dueling, and her watching, or going against Kevin, and everyone was having fun. "You've never declared something as bold as that back then. What happened to you?"

"Pfft. As if. It's only the third turn, and you think that you already won?"  
"Think so? No. I know so. I draw." Kevin then examined his hand. He smirked knowing he had the game won.  
"Now I summon XX-Saber Boggart Knight." Kevin said, as a fiendish-like warrior that looked like a Vorse Raider with a red cape and a cutlass appeared.

(XX-Saber Boggart Knight: Level 4, Earth. Beast-Warrior/Effect. ATK: 1900 DEF: 1000. Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned, you can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower X-Saber monster from your hand. This card cannot be used as a Synchro Material Monster, except for the Synchro Summon of an "X-Saber" monster.)

"Now whenever it's Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower X-Saber monster from my hand, so I'll choose XX-Saber Fulhelmknight." A young blonde-haired knight clad in an orange jumpsuit with armor that had "XX" crossed over it, a red care, and a sword at the end of his right glove appeared.

(XX-Saber Fulhelmknight: Level 3, Earth. Warrior/Effect. ATK: 1300 DEF: 1000. Effect: When your opponent declares an attack, you can select the attacking monster, and negate the attack. You can only activate this effect once (while this card remains face-up on the field). If this card destroys a Defense Position monster your opponent controls by battle, you can select 1 Level 4 or lower "X-Saber" monster from your Graveyard and Special Summon it.)

"And since I control at least 2 X-Saber monsters, I can Special Summon XX-Saber Faultroll." An old warrior with gray hair clad in orange armor with a blue orb that had 2 X's crossed in the center of its chest wielding a blade appeared.

(XX-Saber Faultroll: Level 6, Earth. Warrior/Effect. ATK: 2400 DEF: 1800. This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned when you control 2 or more "X-Saber" monsters. Once per turn, you can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "X-Saber" monster from your Graveyard.)

"Now I tune the Level 2 Pashuul and the Level 4 Boggart Knight."  
"So you can Synchro Summon, too?"  
"Yes, and you're in for the show of a lifetime." Pashuul turned into two green rings, and scanned Boggart Knight, as it turned into 4 stars. "Now as the old warriors rest their blades, the new warriors grow and become the guardians of the future. I Synchro Summon XX-Saber Hyunlei." He declared, as a woman clad in a black jumpsuit covered with blue armor, with tan shoulder blade coverings, cufflinks, and shin guards, a red cape, and a sheathed sword at her left hip.

(XX-Saber Hyunlei: Level 6, Earth. Warrior/Synchro/Effect ATK: 2300 DEF: 1300. 1 Tuner + 1 or more Non-Tuner "X-Saber" monsters. Effect: When this card is Synchro Summoned, you can select and destroy up to 3 Spell or Trap Cards on the field.)

"And she's got one hell of an effect. Whenever she's Synchro Summoned, I can destroy not one, not two, but up to three Spells and Traps on the field."  
"But then…"  
"Your Set cards are goners. Now Hyunlei, destroy those Set cards with Vortex Blade." Hyunlei slashed three times, one for each Set card, which disappeared almost immediately.  
"You just got lucky. Now end your pathetic turn."  
"Did I not say that this was the Final Turn?" Kevin said, smirking while his eyes were glowing a pinkish-blue aura.  
"Now I tune the Level 3 Fulhelmknight with the Level 6 Hyunlei."  
"What?! Another Synchro Summon?"  
"That's right. Now watch as the blades of old clash with the blades of new, and pave the way for the ultimate swordsman. I Synchro Summon the mighty XX-Saber Gottoms."

(XX-Saber Gottoms: Level 9, Earth. Beast-Warrior/Synchro/Effect. ATK: 3100 DEF: 2600. 1 Earth Tuner + 1 or more Earth Monsters. Effect: You can Tribute 1 "X-Saber" monster to discard 1 random card from your opponent's hand.)

At that moment, a warrior in sparkling, silver armor appeared from the pillar of light, waving a shining, silver sword in its right arm.  
"3…3…3100 ATK points?! That's impossible."  
"You haven't even seen the best part yet. Cause now I activate my other face-down, Gottom's Emergency Call."

(Gottom's Emergency Call: Normal Trap Card. If a face-up "X-Saber" monster is on the field, select 2 "X-Saber" monsters in any Graveyard and Special Summon both to your side of the field.)

"And what does that do?"  
"Whenever there's an X-Saber monster on the field, I can select 2 X-Saber monsters in any Graveyard, and Special Summon them. So now I select XX-Saber Darksoul, and X-Saber Pashuul." Gottoms raised its sword, as Pashuul and Darksoul rose from the ground and onto the field.  
"Now they won't be here for long, because I tune Pashuul and Darksoul." Pashuul turned into two green rings and scanned Darksoul as the Grim Reaper looking figure turned into three rings. "Behold as nature turns to its guardian to protect every living being. Now watch as I Synchro Summon Naturia Beast." A green tiger with leaves all over it with upper legs and ears of tree bark appeared.

(Naturia Beast: Level 5. Beast/Synchro/Effect. ATK: 2200 DEF: 1700. During either player's turn, when a Spell Card is activated, you can send the top 2 cards of your Deck to the Graveyard to negate its activation and destroy it. This card must be face-up on the field to activate and resolve this effect.)

"Now I activate Faultroll's effect. Once per turn, I can Special Summon an X-Saber monster from my Graveyard. So now welcome back XX-Saber Darksoul."  
Darksoul reappeared, shattering the ground under it. "Gottoms, destroy his Dark Smasher with Justice Slash." Gottoms raised its sword, and proceeded to slice Dark Smasher in half.  
"Damn it." Harrington cursed.  
(KLP: 3500 HLP: 1900)  
"Now picture it." Kevin said to Harrington, as his eyes started to glow a strong pinkish-blue aura. Harrington felt like he was being warped to a whole new dimension.  
"What? Where am I?"  
"You're in a place called Planet Zero, otherwise known as the Duel Monsters Spirit World."  
"As if such a place exists."  
Kevin chuckled at Harrington's naivety. 'Such a naïve mind.' Kevin thought. In an instant, XX-Saber Gottoms, XX-Saber Darksoul, and Naturia Beast appeared beside Kevin.  
"Those are the monsters from our duel. But you had one more. Where is it?"  
Kevin started to chuckle evilly, and in an instant, there was a spiral of energy surrounding him. When the energy spiral disappeared, Kevin was dressed as XX-Saber Faultroll. He looked at Harrington with the pinkish-blue aura in his eyes at full effect.  
"Faultroll attacks you directly."  
"Wait. That card you said would win you the duel. It was Faultroll?"  
"Yes." Kevin raised the sword as he prepared to attack.  
"Wait. We can work this out. I promise I won't bother you or your friends ever again. Especially Alexis and Shirley. Please just don't attack." Harrington pleaded.  
"Let despair flow to the powerless, and all the glory to the powerful." Kevin recited, as the pinkish-blue aura in his eyes glowed brighter, and swung the sword at Harrington. Harrington screamed in fear, his legs not letting him run out of the same fear.

(KLP: 3500 HLP: 0)

(End music.)

Harrington, scared shitless of what he experienced, started to run away. Kevin had an evil smirk on his face, while his eyes dimmed its pinkish-blue glow. After the glow in his eyes stopped, he took a deep breath. After he exhaled, his irises felt like they shrunk, and he started to have a sudden migraine. He grabbed his head in reaction, and he started to faint.  
"Kevin." Everyone yelled. Shirley was ahead of everyone else and managed to catch him before he fell face-first into the ground. Everyone caught up with Shirley as she tried to lift Kevin.  
"Damn. How much does he weigh? And why did he have to be tall?" she groaned.  
"Is he alright?" Jaden asked.  
"Yeah. We don't need the Specialist crashing on Day 1." Hassleberry said.  
"Specialist?" Syrus said, questioning.  
"What? It's an honorable military rank, and he's better at basketball than any of us. So I thought I'd refer to him as Specialist." Hassleberry explained.  
"Whatever floats your boat, dino-brain." Chazz retorted.  
"Chazz, we're gonna need to take a rain check on that party of yours for now." Shirley said, sternly.  
"There is no way in hell that I'm gonna reschedule the party." Chazz fought back.  
"Do it or I'll see to it that this upcoming year is a complete living hell for you." Shirley threatened.  
"You wouldn't." Chazz said.  
"I would. Remember last time." Shirley retorted.  
Chazz thought for a moment, before screaming, "Alright. You win, you win." Almost everyone was scared to get onto Shirley's bad side.  
"Good. Now someone help me bring him back to his room. He's too heavy for me." Shirley said, with Kevin's left side leaning toward the ground.  
Jasmine and Mindy didn't even make one step, before Alexis stopped them.  
"If Shirley can barely hold him, then what makes you two think you could?" she reasoned. The duo gave up at the reason.  
"I got him." Jaden said. He went to help Shirley lift Kevin, whose arms they had over each of their shoulders.  
"Whoa. He's a little heavier than I thought." Jaden said.  
"Why else would I need help?" Shirley said, sarcastically. "Everything aside, let's get him back to the dorm as soon as possible." Everyone nodded at that fact.  
"But what about his duffel bag?" Syrus asked.  
"All you, private." Hassleberry said, throwing the bag to Syrus. Syrus caught it, but found everyone on the way back to the Slifer Dorm.  
"Wait for me guys." Syrus called out, running as fast as he could without tripping, which he did anyway after a couple of steps.

* * *

The Next Day:

Kevin's POV:

I started to squirm when I felt something somewhat soft under me, and another thing covering my body. I woke to see that I was in my room and on my bed.  
'How did I get in here?' I thought. I felt a sharp pain in my head, and groaned as I went to place my hand on my temple.  
"Damn, what happened last night?" I said, as I got out of bed. I saw that I was in the same clothes as yesterday, before leaving the gym. I decided to leave and go find something to eat, since I haven't eaten anything before arriving to Duel Academy.

I got my shoes on, and opened the door to see a box in front of my door. I opened it to see a folded red blazer and a PDA. I took the PDA first, and turned it on. It already had one message, from Chancellor Sheppard.

To: Kevin  
From: Chancellor Sheppard

_Kevin,_

_If you're reading this, then you have gotten the box with your blazer. Your exam duel with Dr. Crowler will be in two days in the main arena at 2:00. Please arrive to the locker room 15 minutes early._

_Thank you,_

_Sheppard_

'Well, that's good of him to let me know.' I thought. I pulled the blazer from the box, and wore it over my black t-shirt and gray sweatshirt. (A/N: It's layered as the gray sweatshirt, and then the black shirt). After walking out, I grabbed the box and put it inside before walking out, and try to find the dining hall. It turns out that everyone was in front of the Slifer dorm, and was watching Jaden duel against Syrus.  
'Thank god I live on the bottom floor.' I thought.

Normal POV:

(JLP: 850 SLP: 1800)  
Jaden has 2 cards in hand, Elemental Hero Neos, Neo Spacian Flare Scarab, and 1 Set card on his side of the field. Syrus has Super Vehicroid Stealth Union and 2 Set cards.  
"Now I Contact Fuse Elemental Hero Neos with Flare Scarab to summon Elemental Hero Flare Neos."  
A black and orange colored man-bug hybrid appeared.

(Elemental Hero Flare Neos: Level 7. Warrior/Fusion/Effect. ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000. Elemental Hero Neos + Neo Spacian Flare Scarab. This card can only be Special Summoned from your Extra Deck by returning the above cards from your side of the field to the Deck. (You do not use "Polymerization".) This card gains 400 ATK for each Spell and Trap Card on the field. This card returns to the Extra Deck during the End Phase.)

"Now I activate the Field Spell Card Neo Space."

(Neo Space: Field Spell. "Elemental Hero Neos" and all Fusion Monsters that list "Elemental Hero Neos" as a Fusion Material Monster gain 500 ATK. Fusion Monsters that list "Elemental Hero Neos" as a Fusion Material Monster do not have to activate their effects during the End Phase that shuffle them into the Extra Deck.)

"And with Neo Space on the field, Flare Neos gains 500 ATK. Plus another 400 ATK for every Spell and Trap on the field. Including Neo Space, I count 4: 2 on your side of the field, along with my face-down and Neo Space." Jaden said. (Flare Neos: 2500 ATK - 4600 ATK)  
"Not again." Syrus groaned. All Syrus had on his side of the field was Super Vehicroid Stealth Union and his 2 Set Cards.

(Super Vehicroid Stealth Union: Level 9, Earth. Machine/Fusion/Effect. ATK: 3600 DEF: 3000. "Truckroid" + "Expressroid" + "Drillroid" + "Stealthroid" When this card attacks, its original ATK is halved until the end of the Damage Step. During battle between this attacking card and a Defense Position monster whose DEF is lower than the ATK of this card, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent. Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can select 1 face-up monster on the field, except a Machine-Type monster, and equip it to this card. While equipped by this effect, this card can attack all monsters your opponent controls once each.)

"Now Neos, attack his Stealth Union with Flare Storm." Flare Neos rose and shot a stream of fire at Stealth Union.  
"Now I activate my face-down card Dimensional Prison."

(Dimensional Prison: Normal Trap. When an opponent's monster declares an attack, banish the attacking monster.)

"And since you attacked, I can banish your monster." Syrus said.  
"That would be true, but you forgot about my face-down. I activate Trap Stun."

(Trap Stun: Normal Trap. Negate the effects of all other Trap Cards on the field during this turn.)

"What?" Everyone but Kevin said, surprisingly.  
"With this card negates the effects of all Trap Cards until the end of the turn."  
"Man…" Syrus groaned, sad that his play was ruined by Jaden. But then his face lit up. "Jay, you do realize that with 2 cards gone, Flare Neos' ATK is now 3600? The same as my Stealth Union."  
"I realize that Syrus, which is why I'm still attacking." Flare Neos' stream of fire made contact with Stealth Union, who shot a prismatic blast at Flare Neos, destroying them both.  
"Now that Flare Neos is destroyed, I activate from my hand the Quick-Play Spell Reverse of Neos."

(Reverse of Neos: Quick-Play Spell. Activate only when a face-up "Neos" Fusion Monster you control is destroyed, Special Summon 1 "Elemental Hero Neos" from your Deck in Attack Position. It gains 1000 ATK and is destroyed during the End Phase of this turn.)

"Oh no!" Syrus shrieked.  
"Oh no!" Atticus said, followed by Zane (uncharacteristically), and Hassleberry.  
"OH YEAH!" the Kool-Aid man yodeled, bursting in out of nowhere. Everyone looked at him awkwardly, as he stepped back.  
"Get out of here!" Shirley shrieked, with everyone steering clear of her, since she had an axe that no one knew how she got. She chased the Kool-Aid man off of the island.

(A/N: I apologize for the Kool-Aid guy interruption. I just got the idea of it after having Syrus saying 'Oh no.')

"Anyway…let's get back to the duel." Alexis said. Everyone nodded in agreement. Nobody questioned how Shirley got back with the group, or what she did with the Kool-Aid man. And frankly, nobody wants to know...  
"Alright. Now with Reverse of Neos, since a Neos Fusion Monster was destroyed, I can Special Summon Elemental Hero Neos from my deck." A white shark-man hybrid with a blue orb on its chest and red streaks over its body was summoned to the field. "Now thanks to Reverse of Neos, he gains 1000 ATK." (Elemental Hero Neos: 2500 ATK - 3500 ATK).  
"Oh man." Syrus groaned.  
"Now finish this off with Wrath of Neos." Jaden declared. Neos went over to Syrus, and lightly punched him.  
(JLP: 850 SLP: 0)

* * *

After the Duel:

"Morning guys." Kevin said.  
"Hey Kevin. Though it's 1 in the afternoon. But who's keeping track?" Shirley said.  
"1 in the afternoon? How long have I been out?" He asked.  
"Since after that duel last night." Jaden added.  
"So I guessed I missed the party then, huh?"  
"No. We took a rain check on that for you." Shirley said.  
"You guys did? Thanks. But who was dueling? And why does my head really hurt?"  
"Well, you were dueling against Harrington, and…" Alexis said, her eyes wandering off to somewhere else.  
"Harrington? Who's that? And did I lose or something?"  
"Harrington's a snobby Obelisk who was trying to court both me and Alexis since Year 1. But the two of us flat-out rejected him every time." Shirley said.  
"Huh? And you're saying I dueled him?"  
"Yeah. And you won. Are you playing dumb or something?" Chazz retorted.  
"No. It's just that I can't think straight with this migraine I have. My head hasn't been ringing like this since the time I…" everyone looked at Kevin, and he realized that what he was about to say shouldn't be said. "Never mind."  
"Since the time you what?" Shirley wondered  
"Never mind. It's something I shouldn't have brought up. Anyway, can't I get something to eat?"  
"Sure. Let's get into the dining hall." Atticus said.  
"No prob..ugh…" Kevin said, as he felt another fainting spell going on. Shirley caught him before he fell.  
"Just so you collapsing won't happen again, I'll help you to the dining hall."  
"Thanks." Kevin said, knowing that Shirley would have bitten his head off if he didn't accept her offer.

Inside the Dining Hall:

"Hey Ms. Dorothy." Shirley called, carrying Kevin. She didn't carry as much of Kevin's weight as before, since he was conscious, and somewhat walking on his own. At that moment, a middle-aged, kind of turning old, short woman (not as short as the other Vice-Chancellor, but you get the point) appeared from the back room.  
"Yes? Oh Shirley. What brings you here around this time of day?"  
"I really need some food. It's for a friend of mine. And the others too."  
"I'll get on it." Dorothy said. Shirley wondered why the middle-aged, kind of turning old, woman didn't question her about her friend.

After 15 to 20 minutes, Ms. Dorothy came out with all the food.  
"Thanks, Ms. Dorothy."  
"Don't worry about it. It's my pleasure. And can I talk to you after?"  
"Sure. No problem."  
Everyone ate, with Jaden pigging out, as usual. Kevin had minor trouble eating, mostly due to lack of energy. Shirley had to feed him at first, but he managed to get some energy so he can at least move a little by himself.

"So? Who's the new person?" Dorothy asked Shirley.  
"He's one of the transfers from yesterday." Shirley replied.  
"Getting along with a new student immediately. Definitely something anyone hanging around with Jaden would do." Dorothy said, remembering how Jaden helped her during Year 1.  
"The truth is, he's actually my best friend that I haven't seen in 10 years."  
"So you already knew him?"  
"Yeah. But like I said before, I haven't seen him in 10 years, well, until yesterday."  
"Why's that?"  
"We moved away from each other. It was something our parents had to do. I moved from Yamagata to Domino City. He ended up moving to the States from what I heard."  
"What's his name?"  
"Kevin. Kevin O'Connor."  
"That doesn't sound Japanese."  
"He's half-Japanese, half-Irish. The truth is, I can't believe how much he's changed. How much we both changed, really."  
"But why did he look like he was sick?"  
"He has a migraine, and before I brought him in here, he almost collapsed. I was going to bring him back to his room and try to help him get better."  
"So…do you like him by any chance?"  
"What?! I don't like him in that way."  
"Always with the denial. The first step into liking someone."  
"I said that I don't like him."  
"I'm just teasing you. Plus I'm pretty sure you get enough with Atticus, Jasmine, and Mindy."  
"Yeah. But can I tell you something else? And please to not tell anyone." Shirley said, somewhat afraid.  
"Why not?"  
"It's just that…I don't know how to put it, but I think I like him. I don't know yet, but something about him seems different than before."  
"What do you mean?"  
"I mean, he was always nice to others, especially during duels. But when he dueled last night, he seemed a little condescending and ruthless. Not to mention, he was bold enough to declare a 'Final Turn.' Since I can remember, he never did that when we were kids. Plus, his deck is completely different from what it was back when we were kids. To be honest, I don't know whether something possessed him or something else. All I know is that I want him back to the way he was before we moved if he's possessed."  
"And what deck did he use?"  
"A Phoenix Deck. Now he's using something called X-Sabers."  
"Have you ever thought that he may use more than one Deck?"  
"I thought about that a little. But he wouldn't be the kind of person who would build multiple decks."  
"Who knows? People do change over time."  
"I guess you're right. I should get going."  
"No problem. Now go out and enjoy the rest of the day."  
She got up. "You…you aren't going to tell anyone, are you?"  
"Your secret's safe with me."  
"Thanks Ms. Dorothy."

* * *

Shirley took Kevin to his room, and laid him, blanket and all, over him.  
"Thanks again, Shirley."  
"Yeah. Now about what you promised me last night…"  
"You know…that can be horribly misunderstood." Kevin said, blushing at knowing what Shirley unintentionally said.  
"What are you…" Shirley started before realizing what Kevin meant. "Oh you fucking pervert!"  
"Hey, relax. And I wasn't the one who led up to the horrible misunderstanding."  
"Fine. I'm sorry. Happy?"  
"Quite, honestly." Kevin said, with a smirk. The two of them started laughing.  
"Alright. Back onto topic, about we agreed to last night, and I mean about how we've been since we last saw each other…"  
"I apologize about breaking that promise."  
She shook her head. "I understand. You were out of it after that duel, so I don't blame you."  
"Thanks. I swear that we'll talk after I wake up." Kevin said, smiling at her.  
"I'll hold you up to it." "But if you break it again, I swear I'll kick your ass up and down the entire island."  
"Relax."  
"How can I relax when you're practically a dead dog?"  
'Good point. I should get my sleep. But before I do that, I need you to do two things for me."  
"And what would that be?"  
"One, can you wake me up when dinner starts? Assuming I sleep that long, that is."  
She just chuckles at that part. "Sure. And the second thing?"  
"The second thing…well, I was wondering whether if you would help me move the rest of my stuff."  
"Sure. Depends on what I'm helping you move."  
"It's a surprise. I'll show it when you help me tomorrow morning."  
"You know I hate surprises."  
"I know. Especially since your 6th birthday."

Flashback (Shirley's POV):

I had just turned 6 today. 'Today's going to be a wonderful day.' I thought. Kevin and his parents came by. Kevin may be older than me by a couple of months, but I didn't mind. We went to play in the next room over while our parents were talking. I didn't know why they were talking, but I didn't care. I was playing with Kevin. At the time, he looked cute in the clothes he had on. Then my dad came to me and Kevin.  
"Let's go to KaibaLand. How would you two like that?"  
"Sure, poppa." I said.  
"Yay." Kevin cheered.  
'What a happy-go-lucky attitude.' I thought.

They day was fun. We went on a lot of rides, and I even won a stuffed teddy bear. We got back home, and it looked like no one was there. I was scared, but Kevin and my dad seemed like they weren't. It was almost as if they knew about something. We walked into the living room, where Kevin and I played earlier today. It was pitch-dark. We walked in, and then…

"SURPRISE!" Everyone yelled as the lights turned on. I was scared and latched on to the bear and the person closest to me. Turns out that it was Kevin.  
"Shi..wwll..ey…can't…bweathe…" Kevin kept muttering, while tapping my arm repeatedly.  
The adults just laughed, while I let go of Kevin.  
"Sowwy. I was a wittle scared. But why is evewyone hewre?"  
"Fow you, silly." Kevin said.  
"You, mean, you knew about this?"  
"Sowwy, but they made me pwomise to keep it a secret."  
I pushed him to the ground in anger and started wailing on him. The adults were laughing.  
"Aww…they look real cute together, don't you think?" one of Shirley's uncles said.  
"I agree. I actually wouldn't be surprised if they end up together when they're older." Shirley's mother said.  
The two of us heard what my mom said. "Hmph. As if I'd be with him when I'm older." Shirley retorted.  
"I don't know, sweety. You did say 'I want to be with Kevin foweveh and eveh.'" Shirley's dad said, saying what Shirley said in the best imitation he could.  
"Daddy…" Shirley whined. The adults just laughed.

End Flashback

Normal POV:

"Yeah. You even tried to kill me back then. Except the sharpest thing you could find back then was a pair of those grade-school scissors. Not to mention I still have that scrape on my back from that time." Kevin said, showing her his back, with a small-sized scar on it.  
"At least I apologized after. Plus don't even tempt me. I might make that scar worse, you know."  
"Alright, alright." Kevin said, conceding. "Now that I think about it, what are you going to do? Since Jaden and them are doing who knows what and I'm gonna be sleeping."  
"I don't know, now that I think about it. Why do you ask?"  
"Just wondering. Anyway, I should get some rest. Please wake me when it's dinner."  
"Sure." Shirley said. "And Kevin?"  
"Yeah?"  
"It…it was nice getting to see you again after all these years."  
"Yeah." Kevin said, hiding a depressed look. Kevin closed his eyes and fell asleep shortly after.  
Shirley went up and leaned into his ear. "Sweet dreams." She whispered into his ear, and kissed his cheek.  
'Maybe I do like him in that way.' She thought. 'But he probably doesn't think of me the same way. Not after moving away.'  
What she didn't know was that Kevin was still awake at the time. She went to the other bed, and decided to take a nap, after setting her PDA to go off about 30 minutes before dinner.

To be continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

Please tell me how I'm doing with the duels and how you would like them. I wrote this duel in this chapter according to the actual card game rules.

I will get more of Jaden and Alexis into this story, but I prefer to get the OCs together before then, which will take a little while. Can't have a good story without any buildup.

I apologize for making this OC-centric. I wanted the story (or a majority of the story) to be about them, but I didn't want to make this entirely and OC story.

I can almost guarantee that one of the upcoming chapters (should be before Chapter 10) will prominently feature Jaden and Alexis.

Please take the poll on my profile. It will close before I upload Chapter 6.

Also, please review. I would love to hear some feedback/constructive criticism about the story in general.

Until next time readers, I bid thee adieu.


	6. Notice

Notice:

It is with deep regret that I will end this story without any clear ending. It hasn't panned out the way I wanted it to, and I have lost interest in THIS story. Plus the plot wasn't really cohesive.

Don't worry. I will revamp the story. The plot will be a little different, but for the most part, it'll be relatively the same. Same pairings will be in the different story.

I'm also actually thinking of deleting the other one. Not sure. Sound off in reviews, please.

This is something that as a writer that I vowed myself not to do. However, with no time, and losing interest in said story, I'm doing the one thing that I vowed myself that I would never do: leave a story unfinished.

Once again, I'm sorry. Please be on the lookout for the revamp very soon.


End file.
